The Best New York Style Cheesecake Recipe
The Story Behind the Best Cheesecake Recipe
I first fell in love with cheesecake as a college freshman. Our dining hall used to have a massive dessert bar with different flavors of cheesecake, and you could take one slice as one side. I remember I became so obsessed with the cheesecakes that I once took a meal that was just five slices of cheesecake. Yup, it was bad. Yes, I did suffer from the freshman 15 or 20. And so I had to boycott cheesecake for several years to come.
Then came this year, and I had a hankering for a good slice of cheesecake. Strangely, though, I couldn’t find any that I actually liked. I tried all the famous places including The Cheesecake Factory, and found that most baked cheesecakes had a dry, eggy, dense texture. That texture was no bueno, I wanted creamy cheesecake. So I started developing my own recipe. After a few trials, I made the perfect cheesecake. I still remember the first bite I was genuinely shocked at how good it was. I sent some slices to my friends and they were equally blown away.
Here are some verbatim messages I got:
* Omg, what a cheesecake! Literally melting in my mouth… perfection!!!!
* I would die for this cheesecake.
* I have never ever had a yummier cheesecake. Truly. Unbiasedly.
* I never related with the scene in Friends where Rachel and Chandler eat the cheesecake off the floor. But after tasting this, I know what they must have felt.
What Makes This the Best Cheesecake Recipe?
Here is why this cheesecake is truly the best you will ever eat or make:
* It is simple and no-fuss. There are no fancy ingredients or complicated steps. All it takes is a little patience and you get rewarded with delicious yumminess.
* The flavor is DIVINE. It is perfectly balanced the cream cheese flavor shines without being overpowering, it isn’t too sweet, and it has a touch of sourness that complements the cream cheese flavor and adds a beautiful freshness. In my opinion, it doesn’t need any other flavor or topping as it is perfect in itself.
* The texture is SUBLIME. This is what truly sets apart this cheesecake. It is not eggy, dry, or dense. Instead, it is creamy, melty, and rich. You will understand what I mean when you taste it!
How to Make This Cheesecake
Here is how you can achieve this perfect cheesecake:
- Use high quality, full-fat ingredients. Don’t try to use low-fat ingredients here, you won’t get the same result. You want to use Full-fat cream cheese that comes in blocks not the spreadable kind. I love Philadelphia, but have also used other brands like Great Value and Good and Gather with similar results. Full fat heavy whipping cream. Full fat sour cream.
- Bring your ingredients to room temperature. This makes a big difference! You want to place all ingredients out in the kitchen for at least 12 hours before you start mixing them. Especially the cream cheese!
- Pack in the graham cracker crust tightly and prebake it. Spend a good 5 minutes tightly packing the crust in the bottom of your pan. Then bake it for just 8 minutes or so before filling with batter. This will help ensure the crust is crispy and not crumbling into the cheesecake.
- Thoroughly mix the cream cheese and sugar. Take your time in this step! Whisk the room temperature cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla until fully combined, creamy, and no longer grainy. Scrape down the edges of your bowl frequently to make sure there are no unmixed chunks of cream cheese in your batter. I recommend using the paddle attachment of your stand mixer for the best results.
- Don’t overwhisk the eggs and creams. Once you add in the eggs, whisk on low speed only until combined. Then add the remaining ingredients and repeat, whisking only until combined on low speed and scraping the bowl multiple times. This is important because both eggs and heavy cream can whip up to hold a lot of air, and we don’t want to incorporate air into our batter. We want the batter to be very creamy to get a creamy cheesecake.
- Bake in a waterbath at low temperature. A cheesecake needs to cooked slowly and evenly to achieve a consistently creamy texture. We ensure this by baking at a low temperature 325F instead of 350F, and using a waterbath. The water cannot go above 212F 100 celcius so it ensures that the cheesecake doesn’t heat too fast. In order to ensure no water leaks into the cheesecake, you should use an airtight springfoam pan don’t use an old, loose one, and cover the bottom and edges of the cheesecake pan tightly with aluminum foil. Also, don’t open the oven while baking. We want to avoid sudden changes in temperature, which can cause the cheesecake to crack. Lastly, remember, the secret is to underbake the cheesecake! You should take it out when the edges seem firm but the middle is very jiggly. If the middle jiggles only a little bit or not at all, you have overbaked the cheesecake and it will now have a denser, eggier texture still good, though!
- Cool the cheesecake overnight. I know, it’s hard to wait, but patience is the name of the game! We first let the cheesecake cool down at room temperature, and then place it in the fridge overnight. This will ensure a slow, thorough chilling of the cheesecake which is critical in helping it set properly while retaining the creamy texture.
- Decorate with whipped cream. The cheesecake is covered with simple, whipped heavy cream no sugar. This is optional, and you can also play around with other toppings such as sour cream or jams. Inside story I covered my cheesecake with whipped cream only to hide my accidental smearing of red strawberry color in different spots… turned out, piped cream looks really good!
- Enjoy the best cheesecake of your life!!!!!! Don’t try to count calories or limit yourself. Life is too short. This is worth it.
Frequently Asked Questions
* What can I use instead of graham crackers for cheesecake crust? Graham crackers are the signature crust flavor, but if you don’t have them in your country, try to find Wheat Digestive biscuits! They taste the same. If you can’t even find them, use any plain packaged biscuits you like the flavor of.
* How do I tell when my cheesecake is done baking? Here’s what I recommend: Do not open the oven until 70 minutes. During this time, just peek through the window to see what the cheesecake looks like. It should be puffy on the edges but visibly underdone in the center. Around 70-75 min in, you can quickly open the oven door and jiggle the cheesecake gently. It should be firm on the edges but quite jiggly in the center. You can also touch the center of the cheesecake lightly it should feel firm and bouncy. Close the oven door quickly! For an extra creamy cheesecake, take out of the oven at 75 min. For a firmer cheesecake, wait until 80 min.
* Why is my cheesecake crust soggy? Chances are, water has leaked into your pan from the water bath. Here are 3 ways to prevent this:
+ Use a good quality springform pan that isn’t leaky. I like this one.
+ Tightly wrap the outside of the pan in aluminum foil for double protection. I take 3 large sheets and overlap them in different directions to make sure no water can get in.
+ If you’re not confident in foil, you can put your pan in a larger pan or a silicon mold and then put it in the water bath.
Related Recipes
After reading this post, it should not be a surprise to you that I’m obsessed with cheesecake, and have MANY incredible cheesecake recipes for you to try! You should definitely check these out:
* BEST Salted Caramel Cheesecake
* The BEST Strawberry Cheesecake
* Best No-Bake Cheesecake
* No Bake Biscoff Salted Caramel Cheesecake
* Baked Tiramisu Cheesecake
* The BEST Chocolate Cheesecake
* Burnt Basque Cheesecake Viyana Kahvesi
* Cheesecake Croissant Buns Buns From Home London
Print Recipe
Ingredients:
* 190g graham crackers
* 35g sugar
* 75g melted unsalted butter
* 32 oz full-fat cream cheese (4 8oz blocks)
* 325g granulated sugar (about 1 1/2 cups)
* 1 tsp salt
* 1 tsp vanilla essence
* 4 large eggs
* 120g heavy cream (1 cup)
* 240g sour cream (1 cup)
* 1 tbsp cornstarch
* 2-3 tablespoon lemon juice
* Extra heavy cream for decoration (optional)
Instructions:
* Bring all ingredients to room temp.
* Preheat oven to 350F conventional.
* Grind your Graham crackers, sugar and butter in a food processor until really smooth.
* Butter the bottom of a 9″ springform pan and add the crust ingredients.
* Pack very tightly using a measuring cup. You can push a little up the edges.
* Bake for 8 min, then set oven temp to 325F.
* For the cheesecake batter, first whisk the cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla for 3-5 min until well combined and creamy. Keep scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure everything combines evenly. I recommend using the paddle attachment of your stand mixer.
* Break your eggs in a separate bowl and whisk lightly. Don’t overbeat because if the eggs get airy they will give a spongy texture to the cheesecake.
* Add them to the batter slowly and mix at a low speed until JUST combined.
* Add the cream, sour cream, lemon juice and cornstarch and mix at low speed until just combined. Keep scraping the bowl.
* Pour the batter into the crust.
* Seal your pan tightly with aluminum foil on the outside (not on the top).
* Place a large tray in your oven and fill it with 12 inches of boiling water.
* Place the cheesecake pan in the water and bake for about 75-80 min. Don’t open the oven.
* When done, the cheesecake should have firm edges but be very jiggly inside.
* Cool at room temp for 1-2 hours. Then run a butter knife or offset spatula around the edge of the cheesecake carefully so it is no longer sticking to the edges of the pan. This will help make sure the cheesecake does not crack as it cools down.
* DO NOT open the pan or release the edges of the pan, the cheesecake must set overnight in the fridge before being removed from the pan.
* Cool the cheesecake for 2-3 hours at room temp. After this, place in the fridge and chill overnight.
* Decorate with whipped cream if you’d like (serve!
Notes:
* You can skip the sugar in the crust if you prefer. If you do that, update the quantities to 225g graham crackers and 85g (6 tbsp) melted butter.
* If graham crackers aren’t available where you live, look for wheat digestive biscuits.
* Use full-fat ingredients for best results.
* Make sure to use a tight springform pan to ensure water doesn’t leak in.
* If you are worried about the cheesecake sticking to the pan, you can line the pan with parchment paper. First apply some butter to the pan, then apply a round parchment paper to the bottom, and a thick strip of parchment paper on the edges. The butter will help the paper stick to the pan. If you use parchment paper, you do not need to use a knife to separate the cheesecake from the edges of the pan after baking, the parchment will separate from the pan naturally.
Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 75 min
Category: Cheesecakes
What can I use instead of graham crackers for cheesecake crust? Graham crackers are the signature crust flavor, but if you don’t have them, try Wheat Digestive biscuits or any plain packaged biscuits you like the flavor of.
How do I tell when my cheesecake is done baking? Do not open the oven until 70 minutes. After 70-75 minutes, check if it’s firm on the edges but visibly underdone in the center. For an extra creamy cheesecake, take out at 75 minutes. For a firmer cheesecake, wait until 80 minutes.
Why is my cheesecake crust soggy? Water has leaked into your pan from the water bath. Ensure you use a good quality springform pan, tightly wrap it in aluminum foil, or place the pan in a larger pan or silicone mold with boiling water.
